New joint: Bangkok’s 1st cannabis cafe opens with CBD teas, snacks

Photo: 420 Cannabis Bar Bangkok / Facebook

By Chayanit Itthipongmaetee

Feb 15, 2021 | 3:32pm Bangkok time

Update March 16: The joint has opened two more branches – one in Soi Sukhumvit 77 and another in Soi Ari 4.

Cannabis-infused dishes are now being served right here in the capital.

If a road trip to Prachinburi’s first weed-powered cafe is too far, CBD-infused meals are now available in Bangkok at the 420 Cannabis Bar Bangkok thanks to the decriminalization that now allows weed leaves to be used for commercial purposes by licensed entities.

Opened in early February, the neon-lit venue has a few stools for customers to perch atop and sip beverages containing cannabidiol, or CBD, the cannabis plant extract believed to offer therapeutic effects without the high.

Opened by three friends – singer Yada Gomez, Nissin Prasara-ae and Supattana Ayatipat – the venue makes use of cannabis leaves sourced (“without breaking any laws,” they say) from an authorized farm in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

The place only offers cannabis teas in a variety of flavors in 475-milliliter glasses. The Original (THB145) is unflavored. Herbs Party (THB135) adds pandan, while Cocoa Cha (THB135) is, to no great surprise, made with cocoa. The list goes on with Stoner Plummer (THB125, plum soda), Highway to Green (THB125, kiwi and apple soda) and Never O.D. (THB125, honey lemon).

Because you’d be crazy not to sell bubble tea in this bubble-tea crazed city, the cafe also serves cannabis tea and milk tea with boba pearls starting at THB145 at four levels of sweetness.

For some bites, the kitchen serves baked pot leaf and spinach with cheese (THB140) while CBD chocolate chip cookies and CBD brownies are available at THB180. More food items will be added on the menu in the future.

The 420 Cannabis Bar currently are at three locations: Soi Premier 1 Yark 8 in Bangkok’s Prawet district, Soi Sukhumvit 77 in Phra Khanong area and Soi Ari 4. Patrons should check opening hours in advance.

It’s the latest in the first places to sell cannabis-infused edibles. In Prachinburi province, Ban Lao Ruang cafe and restaurant recently began selling cannabis-infused dishes such as deep-fried marijuana leaves, weed leaf-infused juice and pizzas with pot leaves due to its affiliation with the Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital, a bastion of traditional Thai medicine which in 2019 opened Asia’s first medical marijuana clinic.

Since Dec. 9, most bits of the marijuana plant – though not the THC-rich flowers – were decriminalized for commercial use by people or organizations licensed by the health ministry to stimulate the nascent hemp industry.